Management and Business Research

Mark Easterby-Smith passed away in 2020. He was an Emeritus Professor at the University of Lancaster. His field was organizational learning. He had a first degree in Engineering Science and a PhD in Organizational Behaviour from Durham University and was an active researcher for over 30 years with primary interests in methodology and learning processes. He carried out evaluation studies in many European companies, and led research projects on management development, organizational learning, dynamic capabilities and knowledge transfer across international organizations in the UK, India and China. Mark published numerous academic papers and over ten books including: Auditing Management Development (Gower, 1980); The Challenge to Western Management Development (Routledge, 1989); Evaluation of Management Education, Training and Development (Gower, 1994); Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization (Sage, 1998); The Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, 2nd edn (Wiley, 2011). At Lancaster he was, variously, Director of the School's Doctoral Programme, Director of the Graduate Management School and Head of Department. Externally he spent several years as a visiting faculty member on the International Teachers' Programme, acting as Director when it was held at the London Business School in 1984. During the early 1990s he was national co-ordinator of the Management Teaching Fellowship Scheme funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which was responsible for training 180 new faculty members across UK management schools. He was a former member of the ESRC Post-graduate Training Board and was President of the British Academy of Management in 2006 and Dean of Fellows in 2008. Lena J. Jaspersen is a University Academic Fellow in Innovation Management at the University of Leeds, where she co-developed and teaches the flagship interdisciplinary Innovation Thinking and Practice module with Tony Morgan and teaches qualitative research methods at the PhD level. Her main research interests include collaborative research and innovation, and the role of partnerships in addressing global development challenges. Lena's background brings an international and interdisciplinary dimension to her writing, teaching and research. She holds Masters' degrees in Sociology and International Relations and was awarded a PhD with Recommendation of Research Excellence from the University of Leeds. Lena is also currently part of the team at the Leeds Institute of Teaching Excellence carrying out pedagogical research into interdisciplinary team-based teaching and learning with a focus on digital and employability skills. Lena has a strong interest in innovation and research methods. She's a co-author of the 7th edition of the bestselling Management and Business Research (Sage, 2021), which provides readers with a clear and comprehensive overview of methods for conducting management and business research. Lena's other publications include a recent article in the British Journal of Management, containing a systematic overview of methods for qualitative network research, Understanding Global Development Research (Sage, 2017) and the UN-real World of Human Rights (Nomos, 2012). Richard Thorpe is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Leeds where he was latterly Professor of Management Development and Pro Dean for Research at Leeds University Business School. His early industrial experience informed the way his ethos has developed. Common themes are a strong commitment to process methodologies and a focus on action in all its forms; an interest in and commitment to the development of doctoral students and the development of capacity within the sector; and a commitment to collaborative working on projects of mutual interest. Following a number of years in industry, he joined Strathclyde University as a researcher studying incentive payment schemes. This led to collaboration on Payment Schemes and Prod...